Kite Connect on WebNotes

Algo trading with Kite Connect

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Algorithmic trading via Kite Connect lets retail traders build, backtest, and deploy custom strategies on Indian equity and F&O markets.

Architecture

A typical Kite Connect algo:

Strategy logic (in Python / Node.js / Java).
Data input via WebSocket (live ticks).
Signal generation based on indicators / patterns / events.
Order placement via REST API.
Position monitoring and exit logic.

Common strategies

Trend-following: EMA crossovers, MACD signals.
Mean reversion: Bollinger band, RSI extremes.
Statistical arbitrage: Pair trades, calendar spreads.
Options strategies: Premium decay capture, iron condor management.

SEBI compliance

Per SEBI’s algo framework :

Backtesting with Kite historical API

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes and is written independently. WebNotes operates a Zerodha account-opening referral programme, disclosed on the pages that carry the referral link; this guide does not carry it and earns no referral commission from the procedure described here.

Step-by-step procedure

Per the procedure infobox.

Historical API without Kite Connect access

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For historical data on Indian equity / F&O without a Kite Connect subscription:

Source	Data
NSE / BSE bhav copy	Daily OHLC, volume; freely downloadable
Zerodha Console	Your trade history (not market historical)
Third-party APIs (paid)	Alpha Vantage, Quandl, etc.
Kite chart historical	Visible on Kite charts; not API-accessible without Connect

For programmatic / API access to historical Kite data:

Kite Connect subscription with historical data add-on.
See Kite Connect historical data API and Historical vs live data pricing .

Free alternatives

NSE bhav copy: Download daily files at nseindia.com.
BSE bhav copy: Daily data.
Yahoo Finance / Alpha Vantage: Some Indian data available.

For backtesting and analytics, free sources work; for real-time integration, Kite Connect is needed.

Historical vs live data pricing

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect data offerings:

Data type	Pricing
Live WebSocket ticks	Included in base Kite Connect plan
Live quote (REST snapshot)	Included
Historical OHLC	Paid add-on
Historical tick data	Premium / institutional

For most retail algo developers:

Base plan (Rs ~2,000/month): Live data + order placement.
Historical add-on: Adds back-test capability.

When historical is needed

Backtesting strategies before live deployment.
Building analytics dashboards.
Strategy research.

For details: Kite Connect historical data API .

How to fix 'max order request exceeded' without 5000 orders

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The “max order request exceeded” error in Kite Connect typically indicates you’ve hit the per-second or per-minute rate limit, not the daily 5000-order cap.

How to fix mobile browser issue with Kite Connect login

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If Kite Connect OAuth login fails on mobile browser:

Step-by-step procedure

Five steps per the procedure infobox.

How to get invoice for Kite Connect subscription

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To get the invoice for a Kite Connect subscription:

Step-by-step procedure

Four steps per the procedure infobox.

Kite API charges and plans

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Summary of Kite Connect API charges and plans:

Component	Approximate cost
Base Connect plan (per app)	Rs ~2,000 per month
Historical data add-on	Additional monthly fee
Multiple apps	Per-app billing
Custom enterprise plan	Negotiated

For specifics, see:

Current pricing on kite.trade .

What you get

Order placement / modification.
Live WebSocket ticks.
Portfolio / positions access.
Margin computation.
Funds API.
Basic historical (limited; full historical via add-on).

What it doesn’t include

Strategy coding service.
Backtesting platform (you build).
Order execution on non-Zerodha brokers.

External references

References

Zerodha, Kite Connect plans and pricing, kite.trade.

Kite Connect API pricing

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect API has tiered subscription pricing. Monthly fees apply per app, with optional add-ons for historical data and other premium features.

Plans (representative; subject to change)

Plan	Approximate price per month	Includes
Personal app	Rs ~2,000	One app, retail trading
Multiple apps	Higher (per app)	Multiple distinct apps
Historical data add-on	Additional	Historical OHLC data API

Pricing varies; check kite.trade for current rates.

What’s included

Order placement / modification / cancellation API.
Live tick streaming (WebSocket).
Portfolio + positions API.
Funds API.
Margin calculator API.
Basic historical (limited).

What’s extra

Historical data: Beyond a baseline, paid separately.
High-frequency rate limits: Specific paid tiers for institutional use.

Activation

Sign up at kite.trade.
Create app (Zerodha approval).
Subscribe to monthly plan.
Subscription billed via Zerodha.

External references

References

Zerodha, Kite Connect pricing, kite.trade.
Zerodha Support, API subscription, support.zerodha.com.

Kite Connect basket orders API

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Basket orders via Kite Connect let you place multiple orders together, useful for multi-leg options strategies, pair trades, and portfolio rebalancing:

Approach

Kite Connect doesn’t have a dedicated “basket” endpoint; instead, place multiple orders in quick succession:

basket = [
 {"tradingsymbol": "NIFTY24MAYFUT", "transaction_type": "BUY", "quantity": 50, ...},
 {"tradingsymbol": "NIFTY24MAY22000CE", "transaction_type": "SELL", "quantity": 50, ...},
 ...
]

for leg in basket:
 kite.place_order(variety="regular", **leg)

Considerations

Rate limit: Place legs spaced 200-500ms apart to avoid hitting per-second limit.
Partial execution: Some legs may fill, others may fail; design exit logic accordingly.
Margin: Total margin must be available; legs may individually pass margin check but combined fail.
Sequence: Place buy-side legs first for short legs that require margin from buys.

Use cases

Options strategies: Iron condor, butterfly, vertical spread placement.
Pair trades: Buy + Sell simultaneously.
Sector basket: Buy top-5 IT stocks in proportions.
Index replication: Multiple instruments mimicking an index.

Alternative: GTT-based basket

For longer-term: use GTT API for each leg with a single trigger condition.

Kite Connect FAQs

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Frequently asked questions about Kite Connect API :

What can it do

Place orders, get live market data, access portfolio / positions, manage funds, query margins. Build algo trading platforms, custom dashboards, analytics tools.

Who can use it

Any Zerodha client with an active account who subscribes to a Kite Connect plan. Developer / algo trader who needs programmatic access.

How much does it cost

Monthly subscription per app; pricing on Kite Connect pricing .

Kite Connect GTT API

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect GTT (Good-Till-Triggered) API lets you create GTT orders programmatically:

Endpoint	Method
Place GTT	POST /gtt/triggers
Modify GTT	PUT /gtt/triggers/:id
Cancel GTT	DELETE /gtt/triggers/:id
List GTTs	GET /gtt/triggers
Single GTT	GET /gtt/triggers/:id

GTT types

Single: One trigger price; one order placed when triggered.
OCO (One-Cancels-Other): Two trigger prices; whichever hits first cancels the other.

Python example

gtt_order = kite.place_gtt(
 trigger_type="single",
 tradingsymbol="RELIANCE",
 exchange="NSE",
 trigger_values=[2300],
 last_price=2400,
 orders=[{
 "transaction_type": "SELL",
 "quantity": 1,
 "product": "CNC",
 "order_type": "LIMIT",
 "price": 2300
 }]
)

Lifecycle

GTTs valid for ~1 year (or until executed).
On trigger, an order is placed into the regular order book.
Once triggered, GTT can’t be reversed.

Use cases

Stop-loss for delivery (CNC) holdings.
Long-term target sell.
Buy-on-dip orders.
Bracket-like behavior for delivery (OCO).

External references

References

Zerodha, Kite Connect GTT API, kite.trade.

Kite Connect historical data API

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect historical data API returns OHLC candles for any instrument; requires the paid historical data add-on:

Endpoint	GET /instruments/historical/:instrument_token/:interval
Intervals	minute, 3minute, 5minute, 10minute, 15minute, 30minute, 60minute, day
Lookback	Up to ~2000 candles per request
Authentication	Kite Connect access token + historical data add-on

Python example

from datetime import datetime
candles = kite.historical_data(
 instrument_token=738561, # RELIANCE
 from_date=datetime(2026, 1, 1),
 to_date=datetime(2026, 5, 20),
 interval="day"
)
# Returns list of [date, open, high, low, close, volume]

Rate limits

Historical endpoint has stricter rate limits than order placement; check Kite Connect rate limits .

Kite Connect Java SDK

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect official Java SDK (javakiteconnect) lets you integrate Kite Connect into Java-based applications:

Feature	Details
Maintained by	Zerodha tech
Repository	github.com/zerodhatech/javakiteconnect
Build tool	Maven / Gradle
Java version	Java 8+

Installation (Maven)

<dependency>
 <groupId>com.zerodhatech.kiteconnect</groupId>
 <artifactId>kiteconnect</artifactId>
 <version>3.x</version>
</dependency>

Basic usage

KiteConnect kiteConnect = new KiteConnect("YOUR_API_KEY");
kiteConnect.setAccessToken("YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN");
kiteConnect.setPublicToken("YOUR_PUBLIC_TOKEN");

User user = kiteConnect.getProfile();

OrderParams orderParams = new OrderParams();
orderParams.exchange = "NSE";
orderParams.tradingsymbol = "RELIANCE";
orderParams.transactionType = "BUY";
orderParams.quantity = 1;
orderParams.product = "MIS";
orderParams.orderType = "MARKET";

Order order = kiteConnect.placeOrder(orderParams, "regular");

When Java makes sense

Enterprise / institutional use.
Existing Java codebase for trading infrastructure.
High-performance requirements (vs Python’s GIL).
Spring Boot / Java microservices deployment.

For most retail use, Python SDK is more popular.

Kite Connect OAuth login flow

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. End-to-end flow:

1. App registration

Create app at kite.trade :

Set redirect URL.
Get api_key and api_secret.

2. User authorization

Redirect user to:

https://kite.zerodha.com/connect/login?v=3&api_key=<api_key>

User logs into Zerodha; on success, Zerodha redirects to your redirect_url with a request_token query parameter.

3. Exchange request token for access token

POST to /session/token with:

api_key
request_token
checksum (SHA-256 of api_key + request_token + api_secret)

Response includes access_token, valid for the trading day.

Kite Connect order modify / cancel

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect supports order modification and cancellation for open orders not yet fully executed:

Action	Endpoint
Modify order	PUT /orders/regular/:order_id
Cancel order	DELETE /orders/regular/:order_id
Modify cover/bracket	PUT /orders/co (or bo) /:order_id

Modify scenarios

What you can change	When
Quantity	Pending (not partially filled) orders
Price	Pending limit orders
Trigger price	Pending stop-loss orders
Validity	Pending orders
Order type	Pending orders (limited transitions)

Restrictions:

Cannot modify after partial fill (must cancel + re-place).
Cannot modify exchange / tradingsymbol / transaction_type (must cancel + re-place).

Cancel scenarios

Open pending orders (full cancellation).
Cannot cancel: fully executed, already cancelled, or rejected orders.

Python example

# Modify
kite.modify_order(
 variety="regular",
 order_id="240520000000123",
 price=2500.00
)

# Cancel
kite.cancel_order(
 variety="regular",
 order_id="240520000000124"
)

What can go wrong

Order already filled before modify reached exchange.
Network delay between modify request and execution.
Rate limit hit on rapid modify-attempt loops.

External references

References

Zerodha, Kite Connect orders API, kite.trade.

Kite Connect rate limits

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect rate limits govern how frequently your API can call endpoints:

Endpoint type	Approximate limit
Orders (place / modify / cancel)	~3 per second; ~200 per minute; 5000 per day
Quote (live)	Higher per-second limit
Historical data	Lower (paid; specific limits)
Portfolio / positions	Moderate

Design considerations

To avoid hitting limits:

Throttle: 200ms-500ms between order placements.
Batch where possible: Basket orders for multi-leg strategies.
Cache where possible: Don’t re-query positions every tick.
Use WebSocket: For live data, avoid polling REST endpoints.

When you hit a limit

Error response: “max order request exceeded” or “rate limit exceeded” (429).

Kite Connect sandbox / mock

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect sandbox / mock environment for development and testing without affecting live trading:

Type	Availability
Official sandbox	Limited; specific use cases
Paper trading mode	Via specific configuration
Community-built mock servers	Available on GitHub
Streak (no-code)	Has paper trading mode

For most developers, the workflow:

Develop locally with mock data.
Test with small live positions (1 lot, low-value scrips).
Scale up after validation.

Community mock servers

GitHub repositories offer mock Kite Connect servers:

Kite Connect static IP requirement

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite Connect does not require a static IP for standard retail / developer use. The API is accessible from any IP that’s authorised via the OAuth login flow.

When static IP matters

For specific use cases:

High-frequency institutional access: Some plans may require IP whitelisting for security.
Specific compliance scenarios: Particular SEBI / exchange requirements.
Custom enterprise setups: Negotiated configurations.

For retail / developer use, dynamic IPs work fine.

How authentication works

Authentication is via OAuth + access token, not IP-based. The same login can come from different IPs.

Kite MCP for AI assistants

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kite MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an emerging integration layer that lets AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) interact directly with Kite Connect via the MCP protocol.

What MCP does

Exposes Kite Connect endpoints as tools that AI assistants can call.
Lets users ask “what’s my portfolio?” or “show me Nifty positions” in natural language.
Handles authentication and rate limits.

Use cases

Voice-driven portfolio queries.
AI-assisted strategy research with live data.
Conversational order placement (with confirmations).
Reporting and analytics in natural language.

How to use

Set up an MCP server connected to Kite Connect.
Configure your AI client (Claude Desktop, etc.) to use the MCP server.
Authenticate with Kite Connect.
Use natural language to query.

Safety

For order placement:

kiteconnect.js Node.js quickstart

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Step-by-step procedure

Per the procedure infobox.

Net vs Day in positions API

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Kite Connect /portfolio/positions endpoint returns two buckets:

Bucket	Contents
`net`	All open positions including overnight carry
`day`	Only today’s activity (opened today, closed today)

When to use which

Use case	Bucket
Total portfolio view	`net`
Same-day intraday review	`day`
MTM tracking	`net` (for carry positions) or `day` (for intraday)
Realised P&L today	`day` (closed-today positions)

Example response

{
 "net": [{...all open positions...}],
 "day": [{...today's activity...}]
}

Both buckets are arrays of position objects with similar structure.

Use Kite API data on other platforms

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, Kite Connect data can be used on other platforms via integration code:

Platform	Integration approach
Excel	VBA / Office Scripts calling Kite Connect REST endpoints
Google Sheets	Apps Script with HTTPS fetch
MetaTrader	Plugin / bridge software (third-party)
TradingView	Pine Script + webhook to Kite (custom)
Custom dashboards	Direct API integration

Technical pattern

Get access token via Kite Connect OAuth flow.
Use access token to call Kite Connect REST endpoints.
Display data in the target platform.

For Google Sheets:

Will Zerodha help code strategies

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

No, Zerodha does not provide custom strategy coding as a service. Zerodha provides:

Kite Connect API with documentation.
Official SDKs (Python, Java, Node.js).
Tradingqna community forum.

The user (or their developer) writes the strategy code.

Alternatives

If you need help:

Streak (no-code platform): Zerodha Streak free for Z customers for basic strategies without coding.
Sensibull: Options-focused analytics.
Community SDKs and tutorials on GitHub and Tradingqna.
Hire a developer familiar with Kite Connect.

External references

References

Zerodha, Kite Connect documentation, kite.trade.
Tradingqna community discussions, tradingqna.com.

Kite Connect on WebNotes

Algo trading with Kite Connect

Architecture

Common strategies

SEBI compliance

Backtesting with Kite historical API

Step-by-step procedure

Historical API without Kite Connect access

Free alternatives

Historical vs live data pricing

When historical is needed

How to fix 'max order request exceeded' without 5000 orders

How to fix mobile browser issue with Kite Connect login

Step-by-step procedure

How to get invoice for Kite Connect subscription

Step-by-step procedure

Kite API charges and plans

What you get

What it doesn’t include

See also

External references

References

Kite Connect API pricing

Plans (representative; subject to change)

What’s included

What’s extra

Activation

See also

External references

References

Kite Connect basket orders API

Approach

Considerations

Use cases

Alternative: GTT-based basket

Kite Connect FAQs

What can it do

Who can use it

How much does it cost

Kite Connect GTT API

GTT types

Python example

Lifecycle

Use cases

See also

External references

References

Kite Connect historical data API

Python example

Rate limits

Kite Connect Java SDK

Installation (Maven)

Basic usage

When Java makes sense

Kite Connect OAuth login flow

1. App registration

2. User authorization

3. Exchange request token for access token

Kite Connect order modify / cancel

Modify scenarios

Cancel scenarios

Python example

What can go wrong

See also

External references

References

Kite Connect rate limits

Design considerations

When you hit a limit

Kite Connect sandbox / mock

Community mock servers

Kite Connect static IP requirement

When static IP matters

How authentication works

Kite MCP for AI assistants

What MCP does

Use cases

How to use

Safety

kiteconnect.js Node.js quickstart